First Battlefield

[RLQ1]

When I was a kid, my mother had taken me to visit the Chickamauga battlefield. I can still remember how fascinated I was to visit the battlefield for the first time.

[SBPony]

Originally Posted by Blockaderunner

Ole,

Arnhem is well worth a visit. The Hartenstein Hotel, which was Models HQ then Urquarts HQ is the battlefield museum. The bridge is named the John Frost bridge. If you have seen A Bridge Too Far, you will remember he was played by Hannibal Lector. I never got to Nijmegen, but I believe there is a US Airborne museum there. If you are ever in the Low countries, there is also a Battle of the Bulge museum in Bastogne. Nuts.

My wife and I plan on visiting Bastongne someday before we lose too many more of our vets. My Grandfather was wounded by a sniper there. He always said that he was shot walking by a window in a castle overlooking the Rhine river.

[9thKYCoC]

Mine was last year at Mill Springs Kentucky. For being my third event since becoming a reenactor, I thought it was awesome. This year our company is going to "At High Tide" and I'm really looking forward to that battlefield!

Pvt. Kirk

[samgrant]

You folks in the South and the East are fortunate to be relatively close to those battlefields. The only thing close to me is Camp Douglas (Oak Woods Cemetery), and it's not the same thing at all. I think you'd understand.

-

[timewalker]

First battlefield of any kind was the Alamo.

First Civil War battlefield (and only one so far) was Vicksburg. My wife was a real trooper to start, getting out as I stopped at each monument and plaque. Finally she asked "Don't they all say the same thing?" and promptly curled up for a nap which I continued slogging across the entire battlefield.

[Blockaderunner]

Timewalker, you have to visit these places by yourself or at least with people who have a vague interest. I remember visiting the Tower of London with an ex girlfriend. I wanted to see everything. Then I would hear a deep sigh and she would be glancing at her watch.

[Blockaderunner]

I was trawling through youtube looking for civil war related items when I remembered this thread and all the talk of 'A Bridge Too Far.'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ4dgmst7Wo

Classic stuff

[Baggage Handler #2]

Gettysburg, when I was a kid... difficult to make sense of at that age.

Have taken ours to Shiloh and Chickamauga so far.
I try to understand the dynamics beforehand, and focus our visit on one or two specific areas. For Shiloh it was the Peach Orchard & the pond, plus the landing. Ambrose Bierce's account was great for that.

Was talking with my aunt, who once had told me a story (secondhand) about an uncle Tony who would pass out candy when he got his civil war pension. So I started looking into it and found that he (and my GG Gfather) were at Chickamauga, making the focus of the visit vastly simpler. This is important, because I can explain to my daughter about Snodgrass Hill, but I cannot hope to convey the symphony of movements that took place on 20 September.

Future trips will find us at Kennesaw, Resaca, and - for another G-grandfather, Antietam's sunken lane, Marye's Heights, and Yellow Tavern (if I can find it - a 9 month man, he re-upped in the PA Cavalry).

What I hope to do is give my kids a sense of connection to history, an appreciation of what it might have been like for the common guy to stare at something beyond fierce and scary, and hopefully re-sensetize them to real life drama instead of the saccharine George Lucas interpretation.

[Blockaderunner]

Baggage Handler, you have some fine visits ahead of you.
Kennesaw Mountain is one of the most amazing battlefields I have ever visited. Even on the misty day I was there, the views from the mountain were fantasic. If you have read 'Co Aytch', it is possible to stand in roughly the same position as Sam Watkins. Sam claimed that every man in his regiment killed between 30 and 100 Yankees that day. Looking down the slope where the Union troops were attacking, Sams claims may not be too far exagerated. Also look for the trees which are battlefield survivors. As sapplings the tops were shot away. Now as mature trees, they branch out in a T rather than a V.
Antietam is also well worth a visit. The field remains close to its 1862 appearance and has not been spoiled by commercialism. Walking the path around the cornfield is a highlight.

[M E Wolf]

Dear BaggageHandler#2,

Yellow Tavern, is approximately 6 miles north of Richmond, Virginia. During the Civil War, Yellow Tavern was an abandoned Inn.

Marye's Heights is in Fredericksburg, Virginia. It should not be too far off of I-95. Just a smidge south of Rt. 17. There are many historical markers around that should be able to assist. But, it is in the old town of Fredericksburg.

Hope this is of assistance.

Respectfully submitted for consideration,
M. E. Wolf